St. Paul daily globe., 1887-09-05
A MODERN STRADIAURIUS.
A Minneapolis Man on Whom Has
Fallen the Mantle of the
Great Amati.
Harrison Heskett, the Genius of Violin
Makers, and Glance Into
His Shop.
Remenyi's Great Fribute---Some Violins
Of Valne---Part of a Wonderful
Collection.

In one of those magnificent industrial
speeches which the celebrated English
Liberal leader, Gladstone, has made i'm
his long and famous career is the fol-
lowing expression of remarkable
thought: at wants more talent, brain
and ability to make that perfection of
beauty called "a violin Che meant per-
feet violin. not fiddle) than to have in
vented and constructed that marvel of
the age, a locomotive" These words
have been quoted merely to show the
real Importance of the facts contained
in this article and the interest it should
arouse when it becomes widely
known, what is at present re-
stricted to musical circle, to-wit: The
fact that here in our midst in the CITY of
Minneapolis there lives to-day the man
who is said to be one of the greatest
masters OF the divine art of violin max
ing; indeed, those who are best compe-
tent to judge unanimously render the
verdict that he is the greatest living
master. A rapid sketch of the most in
teresting data in the history of the
violin can not fail to contain some in
tereSting and novel information to those
who have neither had the time nor in
chnati0n to ever read upon this subject,
and will give clear idea why an artist
of this renown should be honored in the
community wherein he makes his home.
AT the ancient and quaint Italian city
OF CremOna in the sixteenth century
there lived family of the name of
Amati, who one and all had the divine
touch of genius in producing instru-
mentS of extraordinary sweetness of
tone; but NicolO Amati, the last of the
great family of whom historians speak.
was also the greatest. He was born in
the old Italian city in 1896 and was
gathered to his fathers in 1854, at the
glorious old age of eighty-eight years.
a noticeable mark of the Amati exam
pies is their slenderness. Nicolo's work
is slightly tinged with this fault, too.
but in sweetness, roundness and silvery
tones he surpassed all his relatives in
his efforts, and further improve
ment he made lay in the rela-
tlonS of the SWellS and thickness of
his instruments, while preserving
their distinguishing sweetness of tones
they attain more power and brilliancy
than in those of his father or uncle. Be
fore his death the master had taken into
his workshop youth by the name of An
tonlus Stradlaurlus, upon whose Shoul-
derS fell the mantle of the divine Amati,
and nobly did he follow in his teachers
footsteps. His instrumets to-day are
almost priceless in value and so highly
thought of by connoisseurs that they are
closely watched and it is we'll known who
possess them. From his early youth all of
his violinS are stamped with this mark
on the inside: "Antonius Stradiaurius,
CremOnenSis faciebat, A. d 10 and
then the particular date. This greatly
assists in determining a genuine Strad
from spurious article. This master
died in 1871, and since his day no great
master has arisen till in hamlet of the
state of Ohio, by the name of Cambridge.
in Guernsey county, was born about
forty-five years ago Harrison II. Hes